North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Paektusan Hero Youth Power Station No. 3 in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on April 23, 2016. KCNA/via REUTERS

(Reuters) - North Korea needs a “powerful nuclear deterrence” to counter U.S. hostility and threats, the foreign ministry was quoted by the state news agency KCNA as saying on Tuesday.

“The U.S. continued pursuance of extreme hostile policy and nuclear threat and blackmail against the DPRK will only make the latter make drastic progress in bolstering nuclear attack capabilities,” KCNA quoted a ministry spokesman as saying.

It said the ministry was responding to what it described as Washington’s ramping up of pressure against North Korea following its test on Saturday of submarine-launched ballistic missile.